Classical Guitarist

The Story Behind this CD:

In the summer of 1986, near the end of a very busy concert season, I spent a full week of nights with an audio engineer and producer in a church in Cambridge, Massachusetts on the campus of Harvard University. We wanted to capture the beautiful ambient sound of this religious space without the typical traffic noise that unfortunately accompanies it during daylight hours.

The result was this recording, done back then on large reels of tape. Later that year I began touring overseas and preparing for my New York City solo recital debut, which occurred in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in May of 1987. Somehow the master recording was never pressed into a CD and the reels languished in my closet for 22 years.

During that time, I took an extended sabbatical away from guitar while pursuing other life interests. Then one day in 2008, I took these reels out and had a listen. I was very pleased with the interesting repertoire but concerned about the possibly eroded quality of the sound. I sent them out to be re-mastered by Bernie Grundman in Hollywood, California. He brought these sessions to life in such a fantastic restoration that I was pleased to press this CD, Autumn Elegy, affectionately titled after the work written for me by William Coble that is second on the disk.

Coble’s work is perhaps the most adventurous work on this collection, while tonal, its character is decidedly modern in flavor. The music that I now perform is much more traditional and appeals to the typically eclectic audience that frequents the recitals I perform today.